Playmaker in the House: Sam Hartman

Not sure what I like more—an athletic celebrity sighting on my own or seeing athletes and coaches in attendance at other sporting events. Whether it's a few Forty Niners at a Warrior game after a big win, golfers in the stands at Wimbledon before the British Open, memories of Kobe Bryant with his daughter at UConn game—it makes sense that athletes show up in support of other athletes. And, I loved nothing more than seeing Irish quarterback, Sam Hartman and two teammates at the Notre Dame Women's basketball game.

This is not the first time Notre Dame football players have been at Purcell Pavilion for Irish women's or men's hoops. In recent years, schools have been vocal and intentional about getting coaches and teams to support other programs with their presence. When I was in Athletics, I know how hard we worked to build a culture—rooted in our community values, shared by all the programs. While training, practice, team meetings, and travel are to be considered, the field of competition reveals character and culture above all. Therefore, we wanted teams to be in the stands, cheer for their friends, yell for the Irish and have fun. Talk about winning.

The caption under the photos said "Playmakers in the house!" Reading that message and seeing these photos, I wish I was too. In response, one comment said "he's just another student.... Jesus!" While those words are certainly true, they're also not true.

Sam Hartman is not just another student. He's QB1. Were I a current student at Notre Dame and he was my classmate, our realities would be totally different. Remember, Hartman is an athlete for whom Notre Dame stadium played Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" over the loud speaker at the Wake Forest game—on his "other" senior day. The love prompted the Demon Deacons coach, Dave Clawson to say,

Here's a guy [Hartman] we recruited and we developed, and they are putting on a video of him, saying 'We will always love you.' I'm like, you only dated him for a couple of months. It can't be love. We are the ones who love him. We had five years with him. You rented him for a season. They bought him and rented him for a year, and now they love him. When that video played, it's just like, holy cow, this is where college football is.

Hartman, a Wake Forest transfer has played in only 11 games for the Irish, but the love is real.

Like most love stories, let's be honest: the timing was right. "Coach Free" and his program have established roots. Hartman came in with experience, a strong arm and great hair. Although the season didn't go exactly as planned, we loved him because we felt like it actually might. Furthermore, it's noteworthy that he's a part of student life when he could easily be in Phoenix training for the combine. His presence (and his beard) turn heads. We pay attention and take notice. So let's do as he and two of his teammates did—show up for others and reveal character and a culture worth standing behind. 

Photo Credits
@NDWBB
with Coach Free

What I Miss But What I Have Learned in This Year's March Madness

I can almost smell the sweat.

I miss that squeak. A lateral move, the touch and go, the pivot or fake right go left that leads the athlete's shoes to squeak on the hardwood. Slip. Slide. More squeak.

And how awesome that those very shoes punctuate the floor with a shock of green?! Kelly green. Irish.

I look down. This video is only 7 minutes and 45 seconds. I already know I don't want it to end.

I love the uniforms—blue for Our Lady, and gold for where she stands on the Dome. Beauty in motion. Truly bBeautiful.

And what a great message Father Pete McCormick, CSC preaches. He says: "The same is true in the spiritual life. We cannot be passive. We must, in our own way, scurry. So my challenge to you is, You want to see the miraculous glory of God? Participate in it." 

I think to myself. Do I go after it? How to I participate? How do I include others? Do I? Do you? 

I realize why I love this story so much; it reminds me of what I miss: Sports and Spirituality—live, in real time.

Right now, every sports fan knows what time of year it should be. We know what we are missing. My friend Haley Scott DeMaria captures that sentiment so well. In her blog, she writes 

This might be the most Madness we’ve seen in March in a long time. Who would have thought the biggest news in NCAA basketball tournament history would not be #16 UMBC beating #1 UVA in the first round?!  As a former student-athlete, my heart aches. As the mother of a high school senior whose (final) spring sports season is up in the air, I have a pit in my stomach. As an American, I get it. It’s the right thing to do. But that doesn’t make the heartache and heart break any easier.

Supporting the Fighting Irish On and Off the Court reminded me that I'm not just missing sports or the NCAA men's and women's tourney, I miss the spirituality if all too. I miss the unfolding stories and moments from this time of year that transcends the x's and o's. I wonder what Sister Jean is up to. Many lament that they will not hear "One Shining Moment" as the madness comes to a close. 

I miss the way that my spirituality finds life in community. I already miss my Sunday morning ritual of 8:00 a.m. Mass at St.Vincent de Paul and the parishioners I see from one week to the next.

I miss the pressure that Lent puts on me—that might sound weird, but it's true. Every Friday, I wonder Should I be at Stations of the Cross right now? I am wondering what Holy Week will be like. I would like to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation—is that an option? 

I am disappointed that my classroom wasn't able to complete our journey with CRS in giving to Operation Rice Bowl as one. As part of my Lenten practice, I was hoping to get to the 7:15 a.m. school mass once a week. To gather around the Eucharistic table with my faith-filled colleagues is a meaningful way to start the day. I've struggled to figure out how I can reinvent my Lenten commitment.

In light of "shelter-in-place," I watch Father Pete with a new perspective. He says, "We always celebrate a team mass, whether it's home or away. If it's home, we'll do it right in the team room and typically if it's away, we'll arrive and settle into the site." Now more than ever, I realize he is a gift to this team AND he has a gifted ministry.

One way he's able to do that is with his "Mass in a suitcase." Its importance is not to be underestimated—packed with intentionality and great care, he's willing to look like the diva priest who shows up with not one but two rolling into suitcases by his side.

He shares that the purpose of a team chaplain is to get a sense of the pressures that Division 1 college basketball players undergo. The viewer sees him board the charter plane with the team. He adds "And then, at that point it's just a ministry of presence" What a gift.

The video winds down with two contests: Notre Dame vs. Clemson on February 9 and Notre Dame vs. University of Virginia two days later. I caught one of those games live—something I probably took for granted at that time. I hear the announcer calling the plays...the points. I hear the clapping and the cheering. The power and the glory—the sights and the sounds of Sports and Spirituality.

In his ministry of presence Father Pete declares, “I have a responsibility to share the joy that I’ve encountered in my vocation — even with the hardship.” He speaks openly and candidly about being a priest in a time when the Catholic Church lacks credibility. He states, "I have a responsibility to still love those who are in front of me." Seeing him after the game, eating a meal with the team, it's clear that he does. 

Thank you Father Pete. I  would like for you to know that I aim to follow your example and share the joy I have found in my vocation, amidst the hardship—the stories of sports and of spirituality past, present and in due time all those to come.

Photo Credits
32
Team Joy

An Important Question for Sports Fans: Why Do I Care?

I have been walking around in a bit of a daze all day. A general malaise has colored my worldview. And why? Because the Notre Dame men’s basketball team—who just weeks ago were ranked as high as 4 in the country lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. An exciting season that turned many heads came to a halt as we were defeated by Florida State. As I read the break down and analysis of the game followed by one Facebook comment after another, I kept asking myself an important question. I hope it’s one you have asked of yourself before. Why do I care?

Basketball isn’t a matter of life or death; this match up wasn’t good vs. evil. No lives were at stake, no conflict created, no wars or derision, just disappointment to the “n”th degree. Again, why do I care?

I care because I am passionate about Notre Dame. I love my alma mater in the same way that I love the Catholic Church and the United States. I know its underbelly, its foibles and follies. But I also know its mission, its tradition and purpose. I love its community that is a family, it commitment to excellence and how it formed my mind and my heart.

I care because without being overly trite or simplistic--this 2011 team was special. I found myself believing in them and eventually defending them to those who think our success is limited to (past tense) football. They are a passionate bunch. Spend just a few minutes watching them play and you will understand what I mean. Seeing is believing.

All too often we forget that the root of the word “passion” is pathos—which means "to suffer." My mood today reflects the truth in the semantics. For the vast majority of the regular season however, the Irish and their fans didn’t suffer too much.

I delighted in the their first conference win over a #2 Pitt at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh. I appreciated what they were able to do without a true big man this season. I must have shared New York Times article For Notre Dame's Hansbrough, Competitiveness Is a Family Trait with every person that inquired if Ben was related to Tyler. I loved his hustle, leadership and intensity. As an athlete, he is all that I am not. And Tim Abromaitis’ performance from behind the arc was majestic. I thanked him for continually following up on his rebounds.

The decorations these men earned are well deserved. Ben Hansborough was named Big East Player of the Year and Tim Abromaitis earned the Scholar-athlete award for the second straight year. When Sports Illustrated recognized Mike Brey as the National coach of the year, I knew this team was legit.

I reached out to my former students who are now studying at Notre Dame. I wanted to know about the mood on campus. In what creative ways was the student body backing this team? How difficult is it to get tickets? Were there pep rallies? I didn’t want my M-TV; no I wanted the beat on campus.

I also wanted a Big East Title. I was hopeful for a good run in the NCAA. I admit it, visions of the Final Four in Houston danced in my head. My desire for this team and its glory—putting Notre Dame men’s basketball back on the map—was very strong. My passion for the Irish had its focus; my desire for victory was palpable. And once I realized that, I suddenly began to understand why I care.

As stated by Ron Rolheiser in The Holy Longing

Desire gives no exemptions. It does however admit of different moods and faces. Sometimes it hits us as pain - dissatisfaction, frustration, and aching. At other times its grip is not felt as painful at all, but as a deep energy, as something beautiful, as an inexorable pull, more important than anything else inside us, toward love, beauty, creativity, and a future beyond our limited present. Desire can show itself as aching pain or delicious hope.

The delicious hope was obvious. They don’t call the NCAA Basketball Tournament “the big dance” for naught. Some all called and few are chosen. The road to the final four is always full of surprises and all too soon, the Irish and their fans were confronted with aching pain.

I am dissatisfied with how a good team played on Sunday night. I remain frustrated by our inability to get past the second round of the tournament. But more than those responses, what aches inside me today is that this particular group will not return to the hardwood again. Seniors will graduate, others will move on. A fine group of young athletes had their season. I am a fan, but I am also a witness.

What I saw, who I cheered for, why I care are because this team is precisely what we claim to be—the Fightin’ Irish.

Thank you to Mike Brey and the team for carrying my desire to Chicago. I hope you met a student body at the Main Circle today that despite the loss, greeted you with a whole lot of passion—aching pain aside. Delicious hope for 2012.

Photo Credits
Irish Exit
Beating Pitt
Coach Brey
Round 2 NCAA tourney